FIRST LOOK: Obama admin issues waivers for education law

The Lookout

Welcome to First Look, our daily roundup of early-bird news:

• The Obama administration will authorize the use of waivers to prevent states from failing under the No Child Left Behind education law. (Politico)

• Eight people, including a child, were killed in Ohio in a shooting spree. (CNN)

• Responding to scrutiny, the for-profit University of Phoenix now has a free three-week orientation for students that attempts to weed out people who aren't prepared to attend the school. (AP)

• Two best friends from Louisiana died in the copter crash in Afghanistan that left 31 dead. (New York Times)

• Nearly 50,000 Verizon workers went on strike over the weekend, after contract negotiations failed. (New York Daily News)

• Timothy Geithner will stay on as Treasury Secretary through the elections. (Reuters)

• A 61-year-old endurance swimmer began her 103-mile swim from Cuba yesterday. (AP)

Have something you'd like to see in our daily First Look post? Email me.